Rug-renovating machine



April 12 1927.

T. L. WAGONER RUG RENOVATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 28, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEY.

A i'il 12, 1927.

'ITz-EE 1,624,293 T. WAGONER RUG RENOVATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 28. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORz- Z514 L. @vrzer,

A BY Q' kg ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 12, 1927.

UNITED STATES TODD L. WAGONER, OF SALINA, KANSAS.

BUG-RENOVATING MACHINE.

Application filed January 28, 1924. Serial No. 689,063.

This invention relates to improvements in rug renovating machines, and one of its objects is to provide rug renovating machine which is simple of construction, rapid and efficient in operation, and adapted to clean rugs in a thorough manner and without injury thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for removing the loose dirt, applying a cleansing solution, scrubbing the rug so as to effect a thorough cleansing thereof and drying the cleansed rug, all in a continuous working operation while the rug is in course of transit through the machine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and efficient construction of oscillatory scrubber adapted to operate upon rugs of even the finest texture without injury thereto.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rug cleaning machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof on line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the machine.

Figure 4 is a cross-section thereof on line H of Figure 3.

In carrying my invention into practice, I provide a suitable supporting frame structure 1 provided at its top with a slatted platform 2, and on which frame is mounted a horizontal endless apron conveyor 3 arranged to travel around transverse rolls 4 and 5. The upper stretch of the conveyor 3 is supported by and travels along the slatted platform 2 and is designed to support and convey the rug 6 which is to be cleaned. which. in its course of travel. moves from the right hand toward the left hand end of the machine.

The rug 6 in its course of travel is first acted upon by a transverse series of Hails or heaters 7, carried by the crank portions of a transverse shaft 8. These flails or heaters, which are preferably made of resilientwood. metal or other suitable material, are vertically vibrated by the action of the shaft 8 to beat the surface of the rug travelmg thereunder, whereby the dirt adhering to and held in the fibres of the rug is loosened up. The rug then passes under a transversely disposed channeled dust collecting pan 9 with which cooperates a pivotally mounted guide plate or deflector 10, and then under a primary revolving cleansmg brush 11. This brush 11 moves in a direction reverse to the direction of travel of the rug 6 and its brush surface comes in contact with the rug and operates to brush all the loosened dirt and dust toward the pan or receptacle 9. In this operation the dust swept up by the brush comes into contact with the pivoted deflector 1.0 and is deflected by the same down into the pan 9, from which it may be removed in any preferred manner.

. Disposed between the primary brush 11, in the course of travel of the rug 6, and a secondary cleansing brush 12, which is simi lar in construction to the brush 11, is an upright frame 13, fixed to the main frame structure 1, and which supports a tank or reservoir 14 containing a cleansing or renovating compound or solution. This com pound or solution may be of any desired character designed to effect a thorough and efficient renovating or cleansing action on the rug. Depending from the tank 14 is a supply pipe 15 provided with a controlling and cut-off valve 16 and communicating at its lower end with a distributing pipe or tube 16' extending; horizontally and transversely across the conveyor 3. This pipe 16' is provided with a row of discharge devices 17 for discharging streams of the cleansing fluid upon the rug, which discharge devices may be in the nature of ordinary valves or pet cocks. whereby. in conjunction with the valve 16, the flow of the cleansing fluid to the rug may be regulated as desired.

The rug passing beyond the brush 11 is coated or impregnated with the cleansing fluid discharged through the outlet valve 1'7 and thence passes beneath and is subjected to the action of an oscillating or reciprocating scrubbing brush 18 carried by the upright frame 13. This brush extends from side to side of the frame over the top stretch of the conveyor 3 and comprises a suitable body or backing provided on its underside, at suitable intervals, with transversely disposed brush members designed, in the oscillations or reciprocations of thebrush, to thoroughly scrub the same after the cleansing solution has been applied. The brush is suspended at its opposite ends from the frame structure 13 by links 19 to adapt it to have free and easy or oscillating motion, and said brush is coupled at one end by a connecting rod 20 to an operating crank shaft 21 ar ranged at one side of the machine, whereby the brush is reciprocated or oscillated at a desired rate of speed. This brush is very effective in its action in connection with the cleansing fluid to cleanse the rug in a thorough and complete manner.

After the rug has been subjected to the action of the cleansing fluid and the brush. it passes beneath the secondary brush 12 which in its operation rotates in the direction of travel of the rug 6 and acts to ren'iove. from the rug all moist particles of dirt freed by the action of the scrubbing brush 18 and to sweep such particles of dirt toward a collecting pan 221 into which some of the dirt may fall, and from which pan and the surface of the carpet the dirt may he removed in any preferred manner. After passing beneath the brush 12 and tray 22 the rug is carried through a drier This drier comprises a drum or casing having" a hooded ventilator 24 at its top and provided in its front and rear walls with openings 25 of less length than the width of the drum for the passage of the platform 2 and upper stretch of the conveyor belt 3 therethrough, in which openings are arranged cloth covered rolls 26. These rolls are spaced from the top stretch of the belt sufficiently to allow the rug to travel between the same and the belt in the course of travel of the latter. and serve as sealing devices to permit travel of such moving parts while at the same time closing the openings 25 against the escape of any undue amount of the heat and drying fluid contained in the drum 23. The rolls are driven by contact with the moving rug and revolve freely on their axes to allow the rug to travel without interference and'they serve to press the rug securely down against the belt so that it may be held taut during the drying process, in which process the drying fluid is forced upwardly through the belt and run and also travels between the lateral margins of the rugand conveyor and the side walls of the drum, so that the top and bottom surfaces of the rug will also be subjected to the drying action of the drying medium. The construction described is designed to secure a quick drying action, the vapors discharging through the hooded ventilator 24.

The drying fluid employed may be hot air supplied from a heating pan or drum 27 heated from a stove or burner 28, supplied with oil, asoline or other fuel from a reservoir 29, or which may employ, if desired, gas or electricity as the source of heat. The

pan or drum 27 is connected by an intake conductor 30 with the enclosing casing of a suction or discharge fan 31, having an outlet 32 leading into the base of the drying: drum or chamber 23. This fan operates to draw air into the heating drum 27, wherein it is heated to the desired temperature, and to then draw the heated air into the fan chamber and force the same under pressure into the drying drum 23 for use-1n the drying operation as The rug is dried in through the drum 23 and is discharged by the conveyor 3 at the left hand end of the machine in a thoroughly cleansed and dried condition. t will thus he and rstood that in the time interval between the placing of the rug upon the conveyor 3 at the llfll? hand end of the machine and its discharge from such conveyor at the left hand end of the machine, the rug is subjected to a cleans-- ing treatment in which it is beaten for the loosening up of the dirt. brushed previously described. its course (it travel the sweeping; out of all loose dirt, scoured by the action of a brush and a cleansing; solution, again brushed for the removal of surface dirt left as a residue of the scouring action, dried and discharged from the machine in a cleansed and dried condition, thus enabling a rug of any given size within the capacity of the machine to be cleansed at minimum cost and within a minimum period of time.

The means for driving the various parts of the apparatus comprises an electric or other suitable motor 33 the armature shaft of which is coupled to the fan shaft 34, wherebythe fan is directly driven from the motor. On the motor shaft is a drive pulley 35 which is coupled by a belt 36 to a pulley 37 on astub shaft 38 on which shaft is a small double pulley 39. A crossed belt 40 leads from one section of this double pulley to a pulley 42 on the crank shaft 21 whereby the oscillatory or reciprocatory brush 18 is driven. Another belt 43 passes around the other section of the pulley 38 and passes around a pulley 44 on the beater shaft 8, whereby the heaters 7 are driven. The upper stretch of this belt 43 also engages a pulley 45 on one end of the shaft of the brush 11 and comprises said brush, said belt stretch being held in engagement with said pulley 45 by an idler 46. The shaft 8 also carries a pulley 47 connected by a belt 48 with a pulley 49 on a stub shaft 50, which shaft 50 carries a friction wheel 51 engaging' a friction wheel 52 on the shaft of the roll 5 whereliw said roll is driven o coin municate motion to the conveyor 3. The upper stretch of the belt 48 engages a pulley 53 on the shaft of the brush 12, in contact with which it is held by an idler 54, whereby the brush 12 is driven. By this construction and arrangement of the drive gearing, all the working parts of the machine are easily and conveniently driven in the proper direction from one and the same driving motor 33.

Having thus fully described my invention,

I claim 1. in a carpet cleaning machine. a supporting frame, an endless conveyor carried.

thereby for conveying a carpet, upright supports at opposite sides of said frame, nieans arranged in rear of the supports in the direction of travel. of the carpet for preliminarily removing the dust from the carpet, a scrubber reciprocably mounted on the supports for action upon the carpet, and means disposed between the supports and the firstnamed means for supplying a cleansing liquid to the carpet.

2. In a carpet cleaning machine, a supporting frame, an endless conveyor carried thereby for conveying a carpet uprights arranged in pairs in transverse alinement at opposite sides of the frame, carpet cleaning devices located forwardly of the uprights, links pivotally mounted at their upper ends upon the uprights, a reciprocating scrubber pivotally connected with the lower ends of the links and supported for reciprocating swinging movements thereby, and means for reciprocating said scrubber.

In a carpet cleaning machine, the combination of a frame, an endless conveyor supported thereby for conveying a carpet, and carpet cleaning means including -up rights arranged in pairs at opposite sides of the frame, a liquid supply tank supported by said uprights, liquid discharge means leading from said tank for discharging liquid upon the traveling carpet, a transversely reciprocating brush movable on a line bea tween said uprights, links pivotally connected at their upper ends with the uprights and at their lower ends with the brush and swmgingly supporting the latter, a crank shaft supported upon one pair of uprights, and a pitman connecting said crank shaft with the brush.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

TODD L. WAGONER. 

